She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not
by Lorespinner
Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir have known each other for nearly two years without revealing their identities. They have grown to trust each other over their exploits, but still, Ladybug is reluctant for them to know. They have begun to set up meetings in the night just to talk, and they can tell it is almost time when one of their conversations takes a sudden and unexpected turn.
1. Chapter 1

Ladybug sat on the roof of one of the buildings downtown, fighting sleep. She'd been waiting on Chat Noir for ages. He wasn't usually late to these little meetings of theirs, and while she was worried, she was also getting pretty sleepy. The cool summer night was reminding her that she had a very comfortable bed back home that she could be nestled in right now. Her concern outweighed the exhaustion, though. She needed to be here if Chat arrived, to know he was safe. But wouldn't he call her if something was going wrong? What if something was keeping him from calling for backup?

There had been no sign of an akuma in the city, though. No evillized victims rampaging and causing havoc. Sometime after the sun set, the city had become still in the night compared to the daytime hubbub, the traffic slowed to more of a murmur and less people speaking to each other on the streets, if there were any out at all. Without the sun, the brightest parts of the city were near its great monuments, where more straggling tourists could be seen than in any other place. Otherwise, lit windows dotted the cityscape at irregular intervals, mimicking the stars in the heavens above.

"Hey there, bugaboo."

Chat Noir's voice nearly made Ladybug jump out of her skin as he spoke in her ear, violently pulling her away from her reflection on the nighttime city. "Chat! What took you so long?" Ladybug took an accusatory tone as she scrambled to get to her feet. "I thought something happened to you!"

There was an unreadable look in those strange green eyes of his as he said, "I just got caught up in traffic, that's all." His signature smirk was back on his face as he put one arm around her shoulders. "Y'know, if you keep being so worried about me, somebody might get the impression that you care."

She ducked down to slip out of his grasp, giving him the exasperated-but-affectionate look he was used to. It used to just be exasperated, really, but sometime over the course of their adventures that had changed.

"If something happens to one of us, that just means that the other is going to be stuck saving the day all on their own. You can't purify akumas," Ladybug added, trying to make up an excuse for her worry, "but at least your destructive tendencies come in handy every now and then."

"Aw, c'mon, my lady. I think you're the cat's meow; can't you throw me a line, or maybe a complete compliment, every once in a while?" Chat Noir pretended to be hurt, putting a hand over his heart. But as their eyes met, both of their faces split into grins, and they began to laugh softly, Ladybug shaking her head as she patting Chat's shoulder and sat back down in her place on the roof.

The black-clad cat joined her, sitting close to her but not touching her. He knew when to respect her boundaries, and that the time they spent together at night was a privilege, not a necessity. They sat in a comfortable silence, just enoying each other's presence without much to talk about.

It always felt like a dream whenever they met up like this. Even after two years, he was as in love with her as he had always been, her ceaseless optimism and feisty spirit reigning him in every time he thought he might be getting over her - but then again, when did he _ever_ think he was getting over her? The thought made him laugh, just a tiny snort, but enough for Ladybug to notice.

"What's so funny?" she asked, seeming more intrigued than offended, though he noticed her tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear self-consciously. Noticing things like that always made him sad, the little moments when she let herself drop her tough super-hero act for a few moments so he could see that she was really just an awkward, self-conscious teenager, just like him. It made him sad because he wanted her to be able to see how great she was, like he did.

"I was just thinking about how amazing I'd look as the Ladybug," Adrien said rather than give away his thoughts.

Ladybug groaned and tilted her head back, though she was grinning, and soon laughing. "See! I'd look great!" Adrien chuckled, knowing that she was imagining it now. He was proud of himself for making her forget her moment of nervousness.

"You would totally wear the Ladybug look well, but I don't think we'll be switching miraculouses any time soon," Ladybug finally said, patting his shoulder as if consoling him.

"Yeah, I mean, it took us a long enough time to get used to the ones we have," Chat chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. He leaned over his knees as he drew them up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and resting his chin on top.

They sat in silence again, minutes ticking by. Then, somewhere below, a new sound joined the murmuring of the night life. Soft, gentle music drifted up from one of the apartments, and Chat stood suddenly.

"Dance with me," he said, holding out a hand to Ladybug.

Her face immediately reddened, though it was hard to tell in the meager light that the streetlamps below were gracious enough to cast upwards. Still, Chat could see in her expression that she was blushing as her eyes widened, and he could feel his own heartbeat quickening. _She wouldn't be so embarrassed if she_ didn't _like me, would she? What if she does love me?_

The thought was nearly intoxicating. When Ladybug didn't stand right away, still appearing to be in shock, he grabbed both of her hands in his and pulled her to her feet, giving her a wide grin when she quickly pulled her hands away. "I don't think so, kitty. I'm not falling for that."

"Come on," he pleaded, still beaming as he took one of her hands again. "It's just dancing, bugaboo. If you're really uncomfortable, just tell me so." He didn't want to push her boundaries, but he was also still hopeful as he searched her face.

She didn't pull her hand away again, a good sign. There was a short lull in the conversation before she finally said, "I don't know how to dance that well. I'd probably just embarrass myself so much that you would be embarrassed for me too."

"I would never," Chat said, actually a little amused at her statement. He'd never expected her to not know how to dance, as confident as she almost always portrayed herself to be. If that was the problem, he could remedy it easily. "I'm too enamored to see any flaw, even if you happen to have two left feet! Besides, it's easy. All you have to do is follow my lead. So, may I have this dance, my lady?"

He gave her a deep bow, still holding her hand, and was pleased to hear a soft giggle. Finally, she said, "Oh, alright. I guess you won't stop bothering me until it happens. If I step on your toes, though, it's your fault."

"I'll be fine with that. It sounds like a fitting punishment for dragging you into a dance," Chat chuckled in return, standing up and drawing her close.

She wondered if he could feel how fast her heart was beating even as he wondered the same. He guided her free hand to his shoulder, while his went to her waist, and she resisted the urge to tense. She'd never been this close to someone that wasn't her parents before, let alone Chat, and when she raised her head from looking at his chest to meet his eyes, she felt like she was radiating heat like the sun. Surely he could feel the flush on her face, since his was so close!

She followed his lead as he'd told her to, but at the beginning she did manage to step on his toes quite a few times before she found the rhythm, giving him a nervous laugh each time it happened. He didn't seem to notice, so lost was he in the moment. He wanted to tell her then and there how much he felt for her, how he gravitated to her because of how exceptionally amazing and wonderful she was. But all too soon, the music below stopped, changing to a different song with a much faster pace, and Ladybug and Chat stopped, too.

"I don't know any faster dances," Chat admitted after a moment. He still held her close. He wanted to close the distance between them so she would be even closer.

"I only promised you one in the first place," Ladybug replied, seeming to forget that she was so close. Otherwise she'd surely have let him go by now.

"Ladybug?" Chat whispered softly after a moment.

"Hmm?" She was studying his face as she hummed an absentminded reply.

"Ladybug…. I…." He couldn't find the words he wanted to say, so he instead found himself leaning down towards her, the gap growing smaller and smaller between their faces. She seemed to lean up towards him, holding onto his hands even tighter.

Just as their lips were about to touch, Ladybug seemed to become conscious of what was happening, and she quickly pulled back, prying her hands from his and looking distressed. She had not almost done that! Guilt began to gnaw at her. Sure, she and Adrien weren't dating even after she'd been fawning over him for nearly _two years_ , but it still felt like cheating! She couldn't possibly love someone else, least of all _Chat Noir_ , who was very strictly just her friend!

"I'm sorry, Chat, but you know that I don't date tomcats." It was a pitiful attempt at trying to cover up the sudden guilt and desperation she suddenly felt, and the playfulness she tried to put into her words was very obviously strained.

He felt _awful_. He could tell she was panicking, and it was his fault. "I'm sorry, I know," he said quickly. "The dance was good, though. Thank you. For letting me dance with you, I mean." He pushed his fingers through his hair, then turned to leave when he realized that the mood wasn't going to be recoverable after a moment or two. "I have to go. I'm really sorry, Ladybug. I'll see you whenever the next akuma turns up. Can't wait till then." He turned to look back at her, giving her a grin and a salute and taking out his staff with his free hand.

"Wait!"

He turned back quickly, looking confused. "Yes, my lady?"

"I'm - I really am sorry. I should've just said no to the dance. Look, I - I really appreciate it, Chat. But I like someone else. This guy in my class…." He felt like the next time they saw each other, he would be the one akumatized with the way his heart ached in his chest at her words. He wanted to ask who, but he wouldn't ever cross that line, and he didn't think he could bear it if he knew. But it turned out that he didn't have to ask, because she continued, saying, "It's just, he's…. Adrien is just so great and I've really, really liked him for a long time and…."

"Did you just say Adrien?" Chat Noir felt his spirit absolutely _soaring_. "As in, Adrien Agreste, son of Gabriel Agreste, famous model Adrien?" _As in, me?_ he wanted to add, but if it was him - oh, if it was him! He would definitely need some time to soak in the information before making a fool of himself, and he knew that Ladybug didn't want them to know each others' identities yet even though they'd known each other for forever.

"Did I?" Ladybug seemed to be in such a panic over accidentally saying his name that she didn't notice the obvious joy in his tone. "Listen, I didn't mean to, just - don't mention this to anyone, Chat! I didn't mean to, Chat. You're now the keeper of another big secret and if you tell anyone then I'll be very very mad!"

"I won't tell, I won't!" Chat reassured her, holding up his hands and grinning. "I promise. Pinky swear, even. On my miraculous. Not a single soul will know besides me and you, Ladybug." He was still trying to process the fact that _she_ liked _him_ back, and he couldn't even tell her so! He almost felt like it would be worth it if she hated him forever, because she _loved_ him! He knew he had to go or else he would tell her who he was, then and there. "Cats' honor, it doesn't leave this rooftop. But I really do have to get going now, my lady!"

Before she could stop him, he was making his escape into the Paris lights. She sighed, sitting down heavily on the rooftop and putting her face in her hands. "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret saying that?"

 _I'm screaming bc i finally got this done! Anywho, here's part one of what is planned to be a three-part fanfic (maybe two-part? Idk yet because I'm a poor planner, oops.) But it's pretty cute imo and thanks to those of you who've read it! also yes it is (kinda) another reveal fic lmao my first fic for this fandom and its an overdone plot pls end me_


	2. Chapter 2

"Marinette, you will never believe what I heard in the park today!" Alya popped up beside Marinette just as she was closing the door to the bakery, nearly scaring the poor girl half to death.

"Jeez, Alya, have you heard of a thing called a fair warning? You're going to give someone a heart attack," Marinette teased as she recovered, nudging her friend gently. She then realized what Alya had said and asked, "What exactly did you hear?" as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well," Alya started, "Rose and Juleka told me that Alix told them that Mylene told her that Ivan told her that Kim told him that Chloe totally overheard Adrien telling Nino that a certain lady in polka dots has a crush on him!"

By the time Alya had finished her sentence, Marinette was still trying to keep track of all the names she had said. Her friend got along with almost everyone in their class, besides Chloe and Sabrina of course, but sometimes when she talked about her "extensive network of sources" Marinette got just a little dizzy. "Can you repeat that?"

"Marinette! C'mon, I can't believe you didn't hear that!" Marinette got the funny feeling that Alya had purposely confused her when she leaned in close over-dramatically and whispered, "Adrien knows Ladybug - " here she inserted a wink, placing special emphasis on Ladybug, " - has a crush on him!"

"What?" Marinette yelped, then quickly covered her mouth with both of her hands as a few passing people have her strange looks. Lowering her hands, she repeated the question in a voice akin to a hiss. "What?"

"Oh, I know you heard me that time." Alya was giving her an infuriating smirk that was scarily similar to the one Chat Noir always wore. "He knows you like him!" She poked her friend several times in the side before squealing softly. "Oh man, what if he tries to talk to you - or at least, the other you- about it? What do you think he'll do?"

Marinette's friend had known for a while who she was. At first she'd even been courteous enough not to tell her that she knew, though she had teased her about it once or twice before telling. But she was a dedicated Ladybug fan, through and through, and eventually she'd caught Marinette transforming by being in the right place at the right time during an akuma attack. From then on, Marinette kept her in the loop about most things Ladybug, and Alya's blog had never been more popular. It was also a huge relief to have someone who finally actually knew why she was always so late and why she was sore on days after particularly bad akuma attacks.

But Marinette felt none of that gratefulness now. All she felt was seething rage and humiliation. Even if Adrien had no idea who was behind the mask... "That awful, lying tomcat!" she growled between clenched teeth. "He had no right!" Chat Noir had promised that he wouldn't tell anyone, but apparently he had told the one person in the world that both Marinette and Ladybug least wanted to know her secret, and now all of Paris would think there was something going on between Adrien and Ladybug! She sent up a silent prayer that everyone was treating it like a joke, even though she knew she would hate that, too. She sent an additional prayer that by the time she saw Chat again she would have enough patience not to skin him alive.

"Uh-oh, what did kitty do this time?" Alya had wised up to Chat's ways after the Big Reveal (as they both liked to call the incident where Alya had informed Marinette that she knew her secret identity). She was well aware that he was one of the major sources of Marinette's grievances, and as much as she'd been told, the idea of him had actually lost some of its charm. Some, not all.

Marinette buried her face in her hands, groaning softly. Alya took her arm, leading her in no particular direction. "What? What did he do?"

Heaving a huge sigh, the pigtailed girl lifted her head. "Okay, last night we were at one of our regular meetings and we were just talking and mainly just hanging out. We didn't have much to talk about, you know? So there was this really nice silence and a little bit of talking and then, then, he asks me to dance!"

"Out of nowhere?" Alya gasped, looking entranced. Marinette just knew she was imagining it, and she had to cut her off there.

"Some music was coming from the apartments we were on the roof of, that's all!" Marinette waved her hands dismissively. "Anyway, after all of that, we... I mean... Chat tried to kiss me, and I pushed him away, so don't get any ideas, Alya! Not a word!" She could already see a spark of laughter in her eyes.

Unfortunately, telling her not to talk only made her laughing louder when it finally burst out. "Ah, man, I really am sorry, Marinette!" she said between gasps for breath. "But I have been telling you this whole time that you totally like him back, and you just said 'we'! You almost kissed him, didn't you?"

"No!" Marinette's face was bright red by now. She crossed her arms over her chest, refusing to look at Alya because she knew she would have _that look_ on her face, that big, stupid grin that screamed _I told you so!_ Still, after a moment or two she peeked over at her, and yep, there it was. "Look, it was an accident, okay?" she groaned after a moment, slouching over as she continued to walk beside Alya. "I didn't mean to. I still really like Adrien, sometimes I just let Chat fool me."

"Because Ladybug is gullible like that," Alya teased, grabbing her hand and swinging it between the two of them idly. It was enough to get Marinette to look at her again, and she wanted to pat her cheek for how miserable she looked. Seriously, if anybody was going to be this down in the dumps over a guy liking them back, then that person deserved a reward.

"Just..." The black-haired girl dragged her free hand down her face, though she didn't let Alya's hand go. It was nice to know that her friend was there in her time of crisis. "Can we find somewhere else to talk about this? I don't really want anybody overhearing." It was time to throw in the towel. Alya was totally and completely right, as always. She knew Marinette too well. But she didn't want to keep spilling out all of her secrets in the middle of the sidewalk like this. All of the strangers they were passing could easily become enemies if they heard the wrong snippet of their conversation.

Alya nodded, still grinning giddily. "I had a feeling that the conversation would come to this!" She let go of Marinette's hand to make a broad sweeping gesture towards the place they were now standing beside. "Ta-da!"

She'd led them right in a circle, and they were back beside Marinette's parents' bakery.

"I can't believe it! I've been duped by my best friend!" Marinette laughed, still looking fed up with the situation, but less so. Alya was great at making conversations go where she wanted them to when she really put her mind to it.

"Girls? Didn't you just leave?" Ms. Cheng looked up from the bread she was taking out of the oven at the back of the shop. "Is something wrong? Oh, dear, is there another akuma attack going on?" She looked past them, out of the windows, with a worried look in her eyes. "Your father was out getting a few ingredients for a specialty item... Oh, I hope he's okay!"

"There's no akuma attack, mom," Marinette reassured her, making her heave a sigh of relief. "We planned to hang out here, we just wanted to take a walk outside first. Get a little fresh air and sunshine and stretch our legs, you know." She was uncomfortable with how easy it had become to lie to her parents, but being Ladybug had its blessings and its curses. She might've been a sloppy liar at first, but it had gotten easier over time - easy to do the lying, not so easy to deal with her conscience.

"Oh, thank goodness." She went over to the girls to place a kiss on Marinette's forehead, then waved them upstairs. "You two have fun now! Marinette, sweetie, don't forget that you were supposed to work on your summer project later today!"

"Oh no," Marinette said, the pit of her stomach filling with dread as she remembered. After last night and the news Alya had given her, she'd forgotten that she had a project to do over the summer - a partner project. Alya had paired with her boyfriend just so Marinette would have to be paired with...

"Oo, Adrien's coming over, huh?" Alya waited until they were out of earshot of Marinette's mother to say this with a little wince and a hiss of air as she drew it in between her teeth. "That's going to be pretty awkward. Man, he knows you like him, Marinette! It's probably gonna be all he's gonna want to talk about. I mean, it's not every day a guy finds out a superhero is totally head over heels for him. He's bound to be excited. I'm sure if I texted Nino he'd complain about how Adrien's talking his ear off about it even though it sounds ridiculous."

"You can stop rubbing it in," the Dupain-Cheng girl said wryly, her mouth twisting in a grimace. She had a feeling that Nino was actually the person that had told Alya about Adrien's revelation, now that she thought about it. Alya had probably just said all of that other stuff before to sound confusing and impressive.

"Okay, look." Alya's voice was a little more serious as they began climbing the stairs to Marinette's room. "I really think that this whole thing with you and Chat isn't as serious as you think it is."

Marinette didn't reply, pushing open the door to her room and emerging with a quiet sigh as her eyes roved around the room. She had permanently hidden away most of her pictures of Adrien, having outgrown the phase in her crush where she was completely obsessive. She had been a lot more creepy about it when she was younger. After all, who actually kept a chart of their crush's every movement? Past her, apparently.

She flopped down onto her bed with another sigh, this one a lot louder and lasting longer as it trailed into a sound of utter defeat and agony. "Maybe it wouldn't be so awful if I hadn't just trusted Chat with one of my most precious secrets and he totally told the person it was about in an obvious attempt to sabotage my chances with him!" She could just picture that mischievous glee that had been on Chat's face before he left the night before, that awfully joyful smile and eyes to match. He was like a little imp sometimes, and this was his nastiest trick yet.

Alya slipped off her shoes, then sat by Marinette's head with her legs crossed. Gently, she guided Marinette's head onto her lap and began to undo her pigtails, running her fingers through Marinette's hair to get rid of any tangles. The motion was soothing and familiar, and Marinette closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation for a moment. Alya always knew what to do to calm her nerves, even if it was only for a little bit.

Finally, Alya spoke. "I can always just tell you who he is and you can go yell his ears off face to face." Her tone was only half-teasing, and Marinette sat up immediately.

"Alya Césair!" Alya rolled her eyes at the use of her full name. "We've been over this, Alya! I don't want to know who he is yet, and when I do I want him to tell me, because unlike Chat, I actually value the trust of my teammate!"

"I know, honey. I'm just saying that maybe, just maybe, you should ask him who he is if you don't want me telling you. I know you've been wanting to protect your identities and all that jazz, but I think you've been stressing out over this for too long, and it's adding to these anxieties about Adrien, too."

At a slight prod, Marinette turned so that her back was facing Alya. The brunette began to braid her hair into a single rope as Marinette let out a resigned "Uuuurrrrr..." She hated when Alya knew what was best for her and she didn't. "You're right. I have to ask him. Before the summer is out... I promise."

"Tell me if you like the surprise when you find out." Marinette could practically hear the smile on Alya's voice as she went to typing on her phone, holding what she already had of the braid in her other hand. She went back to braiding after a moment, saying, "I told Nino to go ahead and come over with Adrien so we could all hang out. I figured you wouldn't want to be alone with him right now, and I didn't think you'd get much work done on the project anyways, with how you guys would be acting."

"Thanks, Alya." Marinette sighed, feeling a little content for the first time since the previous night. She would know who Chat was soon, and then... Maybe then it wouldn't matter that he told Adrien. Maybe Marinette could forgive him. It would be a shame to let their years of trust-building in the form of monster beat-downs go to waste.

For or the next hour or two, the girls spent their time playing video games and talking after Alya had finished braiding Marinette's hair. Then, from downstairs, Sabine Cheng's voice came up to greet them. "Marinette, your friends are here!"

Marinette's brow furrowed as she looked at Alya, who gave her a tiny nod of encouragement, waving her towards the door. "Go on, I'm right behind you."

She took a deep breath as she went down the stairs to the living room, lingering behind the door for a moment with her hand hovering over the doorknob. Finally, she opened the door, giving the two boys waiting a big smile. "Hi guys! Uh, sorry about the project, Adrien - we can always finish it up later?"

"It's fine, Marinette! I don't think I could've worked on it today, anyway. Something really cool happened last night and I'm still not over it. It was just... Wow." Adrien said this in a dreamy tone, leaning on Nino's shoulder.

"If he didn't look normal, I'd think this guy had been akumatized," Nino said, only half joking as he nudged Adrien off of him. "He's been acting weird like this since this morning. He tried to tell me about the whole Ladybug thing in the park and ended up telling half of the people who were there because he couldn't keep his voice down. Alya did tell you about that, right?"

"Yeah, she did, pretty much first thing when I saw her today. But he's acting a little weird, so what?" Marinette gave an over-exaggerated wave of her hand before using it to beckon them inside, trying to seem like she was anxious to the extreme. The boy she liked knew she liked him, and if that wasn't the most nerve-wracking thing she'd ever faced, she didn't know what was. It was even worse than keeping the secret of Ladybug and fighting all of the monstrous villains that were created by Hawkmoth. Even if he didn't actually know it was her, the spaced-out look on his face was enough to make her knees weak. He was daydreaming about her, albeit Ladybug her, but it was still her!

"Earth to Marinette!" Alya called as she synced up two more controllers to the game platform that was plugged up to the tv. She smirked as Marinette's eyes met hers after she gave a little jump, and she smiled sheepishly, going to help Alya. She hadn't realized she was staring until Alya said something.

"So, tell us about your new lady friend," Alya said jokingly as she plopped down on the couch beside Nino.

Adrien seemed to snap out of his trance for a moment to sit beside Nino, while Marinette was all the way on the other side of the couch beside Alya. She figured that that was for the best - less of a chance to make a fool of herself if there was no risk of the two of them accidentally touching each other or something. She might've grown out of her creepy obsessive phase, but she was still timid around Adrien when it came to little things like that.

"Well, I mean, it's not like she and I are like... going out or anything," Adrien chuckled nervously. "And I really only wanted Nino to know, but I guess I was being really loud. But let's just say... a little birdie told me about it. I have my ways of knowing these things, you know?"

 _A little birdie!_ There was a resurgence of rage at the mention of the "bird" who had given away her secret, and onscreen, she had a moment of complete ruthlessness, taking out one of Alya's lives as well as one of Nino's in one blow. "Wow, you're great at this!" She barely registered Nino's awed tone, as if he didn't remember the tournament from a couple of years previous. _That was no little birdie! A little snitching cat is more like it!_

Then Alya touched her arm gently, and Marinette jumped, realizing that she'd been visibly brooding over it again. It seemed Alya wasn't the only one who noticed as Adrien said, "What's wrong, Marinette?"

"What? Nothing, nothing!" She hurried to cover up her mistake, her face turning beet-red. She couldn't just say, _"Oh, I was on a roof last night with the person who told you about Ladybug's crush, and actually, I was the one who told him because I am Ladybug, and he couldn't bother keeping his mouth shut like he said he would!"_ That would probably be too much, right? She grinned shyly and shrugged, trying her best to appear as innocent as possible as she added, "Sorry, I just get way too into these competitive games sometimes!"

"Well, with skills like those, it's no wonder you got into the tournament a while ago." It seemed that unlike Nino, Adrien had not forgotten, and he gave her a wink, which momentarily made him seem familiar in a strange way. Marinette quickly dismissed whatever thoughts were forming, deciding that it was probably only because he rarely did things like that, and it was just a weird expression to see on his face. "In fact," he continued, "I remember training with you beforehand! You were so into the games then, too. And that giant robot guy from the game? I know it was an akumatized Max, and I feel bad for the guy, but it was so cool to see one of the characters in real life like that! I know for sure that it helped sales of the new game go through the roof!"

It seemed like they had gotten off of the Ladybug topic for now. Marinette was extremely grateful, and she let out a very soft sigh of relief as they got back to playing the game. Normalcy was returning to the atmosphere. They were just four friends, hanging out and playing video games, and it was nice - nice to be able pretend for a while that that was all she was, a normal teenager playing video games in the summer with her friends, not worrying about any alter egos or their would-be crushes, reciprocated or otherwise.

 _Holy cow, thank you all for your tremendous support! I really do appreciate the reviews and feedback, and I hope you all enjoy this part of the story as much as you did the last one! I'm pretty sure I have just one more installment to go, and I'll get to work on that ASAP! Again, thank you all for your support, and I hope to have your continued support as I work on the last part of this story!_

 _Also, side note: I actually had to look up what to do with Ms. Cheng's title, because I'd never really seen surnames like Marinette's parents' before, and so today I learned that women who don't take their husbands surnames are typically referred to with the Ms. title! And one more side note, Alya actually didn't hear it through the grape vine like she told Marinette she had when she was talking about "Ladybug's" crush. She actually heard it straight from Adrien when he basically yelled in telling Nino, and was in fact only trying to show off when she said that list of people and probably practiced that list all the way to Marinette's place._


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the day passed on, uneventful, and the Ladybug situation did not crop up again for the rest of the evening. After playing games, they all decided to go out to a movie, and after that, Marinette's parents insisted on feeding the band of teenagers. When they all dispersed, Marinette was feeling happy again, but as she prepared for bed, a thought cropped back up in her mind, repeating itself over and over. The words weighed heavy on her mind: Chat had broken her trust.

As she laid in bed that night, she wondered how she would handle it when she saw him again. After all, she had explicitly told him not to tell anyone, and she was again reminded of the cringeworthiness that was Adrien knowing that Ladybug had a crush on him. At least it wasn't her. As soon as the thought bubbled to the surface, more soon followed, and Marinette wondered how it was possible to feel so jealous of herself.

Eventually, she nodded off. When she woke again in the morning, she put off thinking about it, telling herself she'd work on what she would say to Chat after eating breakfast with her parents, or washing dishes with her dad, or tending the shop while her parents went on their date night that evening. Then she was nodding off to sleep again, and then she was awake, and it continued in this way for a few days.

Then came the day of reckoning for Marinette, and she woke without knowing a single thing was wrong.

In Marinette's defense, there really were no indicators to point to anything except that day being just another normal day, going along in life while procrastinating trying to solve her Chat problems. The real trouble only began when she picked up the newspaper her father had set down on the coffee table. Right on the front page, in big, bold letters, were the words, "Ladybug and Agreste: Paris's New Supercouple?" Below it was a poorly photoshopped picture of Ladybug kissing Adrien on the cheek. Marinette's face turned red, humiliation and anger making her hands shake as she held the paper. Despite her better judgement, she kept reading, eyes skimming over the words.

 _Thanks to Chat Noir, word has spread that Paris's own superheroine is a Lady in love!_

 _While the exchange was never caught on film, Paris is buzzing with the idea that perhaps Ladybug isn't in it for purring kitties. Lady Noir shippers worldwide are in anguish as the rumors spread. She has her eye on a bigger, fancier prize than her tomcat partner in crime-fighting! Word has it that, like many girls all around the world, Ladybug has fallen for Paris local, Adrien Agreste. The young supermodel had nothing to comment when asked, saying he'd rather keep it a private matter._

 _What could Adrien Agreste possibly be keeping secret? Does this mean that two of Paris's biggest celebrities are locking lips behind the scenes? Adrien's manager and father would only comment, "My son has no time for such [activities]. He has a busy schedule. And I think I would know if [Ladybug] and my son were seeing each other." But just because his father doesn't know about it doesn't mean this supercouple can't be true!_

 _Although we havent gotten a chance to speak with Ladybug herself yet, we think her emotions are pretty clear. Goodbye Chat, hello Agreste!_

The paper crinkled under Marinette's fingers. She was trying her best not to let loose the angry tears that pricked the corners of her eyes, and she could practically hear Tikki telling her to calm down. She still wasn't sure if it was actually possible for her to get akumatized or not, but she didn't want to take that chance. Especially not today, of all days; the first day back at school.

The air still carried the warmth of summer as Marinette made her way to school, staring down at her shoes and trying to put her mind on other things before she got there. She didn't want her classmates worrying about her, especially since, being one of the only ones of them who hadn't been akumatized, she was likely seen as more at risk to be. She had hidden her feelings long enough to make it out the door, but she couldn't stop thinking about the lies they'd published in the paper. The more she thought, the more she felt, and the feelings definitely weren't good ones to have. She felt betrayed by Chat, one of her closest friends, and humiliated that all of Paris (and according to the article, very likely the world) knew that she liked Adrien, and angry because, even if Ladybug did like Adrien, it wasn't anyone else's business to publish it! Then there was that inexplicable jealousy towards her crime-fighting alter-ego whenever she remembered that Adrien seemed to like Ladybug too. It was too much.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice a rise in the sidewalk, staring ahead with blank eyes. Her stomach lurched as her foot caught on the rise and she finally became aware of her surroundings, just in time to notice a head of blond hair on the person who caught her. Their textbooks dug painfully into her armpits as they helped her up, but it was better than a face full of cement.

"Marinette, are you okay?" She looked up into Adrien's face and immediately bit her lip to try to keep her eyes from misting over. All she could see was the photoshopped picture on the front page. The concern in his eyes and voice, which would usually make her internally swoon, only had the effect to drive the stake in her heart further into its position.

Intead of giving him a proper answer, she just nodded and ducked her head, trying to hide the tears welling in her eyes. She forced out a tiny, "Thank you," as she went around him, laboring to keep her breath steady. She ignored him calling after her and quickly went up the stairs into the school, rushing into the bathroom and locking herself inside one of the stalls. She couldn't get through today, she knew she couldn't. But no one would believe she was sick when she didn't look like she was, and then she'd have to explain when she couldn't actually give anyone a proper explanation. So, when she heard the bell ring that signaled she would be late in the next couple of minutes, she trudged towards her classroom to brave the day.

Just before the late bell rang, the desolate girl slipped into a seat beside Alya, who was already there and talking to Nino. Alya paused when she saw Marinette, then said a few quick words to Nino and turned to her friend. "Hey, Marinette. What's up?" She leaned forward with a friendly smile, and Marinette felt her stomach flip.

Just as she opened her mouth to answer, the teacher clapped her hands together, commanding the class's attention at the front of the room. A few seconds later, Adrien hurried in, accompanied by giggling around the room as he apologized to the teacher. Marinette bowed her head to look down into her lap with a blank stare, spacing out as she forced herself not to hear everything around her. She felt sick all over again, and barely registered Adrien taking his usual seat behind her. Everyone knew - everyone knew, even if they didn't know they knew, and one of her best friends told them.

She only made it through first period and half of second, skirting around all of the questions Alya was asking her, then the pain stabbing her in the chest grew to be too much. Marinette raised her hand, trying to keep it from shaking, and it took a few minutes before the teacher called on her. She asked, quietly, to be excused to go to the restroom, and when her teacher said it was alright, she picked up her bag and rushed out, half-thinking that she might just leave without telling anyone. After all, it wouldn't be the first time that had happened with her duties as Ladybug. At most she'd probably just get a call home.

As she crossed the court in the center of the school, she was looking at the ground again, and again, Marinette didn't notice she was about to bump into someone until it was too late. "Sorry," she said in a small voice, trying to go around them, but they moved to be in her way. She looked up with slight irritation in her eyes, only to see a younger kid, her eyes bright as she held up a notepad.

"No, no - I was just about to pull you and Alya out of class. I hear you guys know Ladybug pretty well!" _Ladybug_. That was the last thing that Marinette wanted to hear about right now. "I'm in the school paper this year, y'know, and I wanted to impress the editor by getting a good scoop first thing during the school year! And since it's been going around, I thought it might be a good idea to cover students' thoughts on this whole Lady Agreste thing going on. Adribug? Ladieste? I'm sure we can work out a ship name later! Any thoughts you'd like to share?" She looked up at Marinette in a hopeful way, and for a moment a flash of pity tore through Marinette, perhaps because she knew what she'd do next.

Then she angrily pushed past the younger student, all sympathy gone. "Leave me alone," she huffed. "I don't want to talk about any - any Adribug, or whatever, stuff right now. Ask Alya if you really need to, but right now just isn't the best time!"

She failed to catch the girl's hurt look as she dropped her pen and paper, racing to the bathroom to avoid any other chance run-ins with anyone. She locked herself into a stall, fully planning to stay there until the day was over, or maybe the week, or maybe the school year. That last one sounded pretty appealing to her at the moment. That way no one could ask her about Ladybug or Adrien, or any sort of combination of those names.

"Marinette, you can't just run away from this," Tikki tried to say once they were alone, appearing from the girl's bag. "You need to deal with this responsibly and talk to Adrien and Chat about this, and try to at least make peace with them." Marinette didn't respond, ignoring the kwami as she tried to talk some sense into her. It seemed hopeless, and eventually, Tikki stopped trying to talk, only going to sit on Marinette's shoulder and lean against her, trying to offer her silent support if she wouldn't take the verbal version.

Marinette lost track of the amount of time she was locked away, but it couldn't have been too long before she heard a sudden muffled slam against the door of the bathroom. Her instincts immediately kicked in as screams followed, and she dashed out, slamming the door to the bathroom open. Looking around, her eyes widened as she saw that Chat was beside the door, collapsed against the wall and rubbing his head. She had so much she wanted to say, anger and betrayal and sadness flashing threw her, but she knew she couldn't, not now, not looking like this. He looked up at her as soon as she exited the ladies' room, but he seemed distracted by something else, then quickly sprang up to push her out of the way of a flood of black liquid.

"Marinette! Are you okay? You need to get out of here!" Opening her eyes slowly after being pushed to the ground, Marinette sat up quickly, seeing that Chat was standing in front of her, using his staff to deflect papers that were flying right for them. She swallowed thickly, eyeing the black substance that stained the floor where she had just been standing, then her eyes followed the path of the paper backwards to its origin. Chat's words disappeared from her mind as she saw what, or rather, who, was on the other end.

Her blood ran cold.

 _This is my fault._

It was the girl she'd run into before on her way to her retreat from classes, the one with the notepad and paper, only now, it seemed as if the warm brown color of her skin had drained away, leaving her skin a pale, sickly white, with words written in a cursive scrawl over her surface. She wore a dress made of layers upon layers of paper, which seemed to regenerate every time she sent a piece flying towards Chat, and in her left hand she held the same pen that she'd been holding when she asked Marinette for her opinion, though now it was about triple the size and dripping black ink.

 _I shouted at her. I took out my anger on her and she didn't do anything to me. I don't even know her name. It wasn't Chloe this time - it wasn't some misunderstanding, or spurned romantic feelings, or anything else like that, either. This was entirely my fault. I yelled at her, knowing what could happen. I made her feel so awful that Hawkmoth found her._

"Marinette, we have to move!" Through the haze of her thoughts, Marinette barely registered Chat's words, and she started when he hefted her onto his shoulder and moved swiftly out of the way of a barrage of ink shots from her pen.

"I am the Unveiler!" the girl cackled, her words muffled as Chat darted into the principal's office, which was empty as always, and closed the door behind them. "I will write a new reality where no one can cover up their evil secrets anymore! No one can be angry at me for exposing liars for what they are!"

"Put me down!" Marinette demanded once she'd got her senses back, hitting Chat's shoulder to make him focus enough to let her down.

"Sorry, Marinette!" Chat said quickly, putting her down gently. "I have to go back out there and stall while we wait for Ladybug. Are you going to be okay?"

"Just peachy!" Marinette huffed, though at Chat Noir's look she waved him off. "It's nothing related to this. Just go." She'd talked with Chat as Marinette hundreds of times before, but she could feel some of her Ladybug self slipping into their conversation now as she tried not to let all of her emotions get the best of her.

Chat Noir hesitated, but in the end, he leaped out of the window, probably to surprise attack the Unveiler from above. "Marinette, he can hold her off for a little while, but you need to get a hold on your feelings," Tikki piped up from her bag, having ducked back inside when Marinette rushed out of the bathroom. "Being too emotional can really ruin your side of the battle!"

Marinette ignored the kwami, determined to just get this over with and maybe yell at Chat when it was all done. "Tikki, spots on!"

Moments later, Ladybug was following Chat's lead, making a swift exit out of the window. She stopped for a moment once she was on the roof, surveying the scene in the courtyard below her. Chat Noir seemed to be losing, and the bitter part of her thought that maybe she should leave it be for a few more minutes so he could learn a lesson about telling the truth. A larger part of her felt guilty, especially knowing what could happen to him if he lost - having his identity revealed and his miraculous taken away forever.

Before she could change her mind, she swung down to assist Chat and take control of the situation. "Is everyone safe?" she asked immediately after joining him, her back to his.

"They're fine," Chat said breathlessly, clearly already winded. "What took you so long, Lovebug?"

"Don't you Lovebug me!" Ladybug snapped, deflecting another onslaught of ink with her yo-yo.

Suddenly, everything stopped, and she saw that the Unveiler was writing something down on a piece of paper. "Oooooh, this will make such a great story! I know just what to do!" she gushed aloud, turning the paper around to show them what she'd written with a wicked grin. _Ladybug and Chat Noir will give the Unveiler an exclusive about their love life._ "You know, there are rumors of some things here and there, but the best place to hear something is right from the source!"

There was suddenly a feeling inside of Ladybug that made her want to spit up words, but before she could say anything, she heard something from Chat beside her that made her heart stop. "I'm in love with Ladybug! She's just so strong and smart and has such a good heart! How can I not be?"

"Chat, I - I've had a crush on Adrien since the day I met him!" Ladybug wanted to respond to Chat's impromptu confession with her shock (and perhaps a hint of her newfound grudge against him), but she ended up spitting out words she never wanted to say. "I didn't like him at first but I realized he was actually really nice and on top of all that he's really cute!" She clapped her hands over her mouth, turning a bright red - about the same shade as Chat beside her.

"What juicy tidbits!" the Unveiler cackled, taking a fresh sheet of paper from her dress. "But that'll be nothing compared to the main course!"

Ladybug felt her throat tighten up as she realized what the Unveiler's next move would likely be. "Chat, we have to get out of here!" she whispered, but too late, the villain turned the paper to them. _Ladybug and Chat Noir will share their secret identities out loud._

Clenching her jaw shut against what threatened to spill out, Ladybug quickly grabbed Chat by the arm, diving into the nearest classroom. She just barely had time to check to make sure it was empty before she opened her mouth against her will, seeing Chat was doing the same. _I've known this was coming, and I'm ready. This is the last time we won't endanger each other just by knowing who we are. This is the last time I'll look at Chat as just my partner in crime-fighting. This is the last time that I'm going to think of someone I know as just an acquaintance. I'm going to know who Chat is._

 _I'm not ready._

 _I'm terrified._

"I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Ladybug blurted out, at the same time that Chat Noir said, "My true identity is Adrien Agreste!"

All at once a terrifying thrill went through Ladybug as she sank down against the wall. "You - no way." Relief and horror and shame swept through her all at once. She'd told Adrien he liked him right to his face. She couldn't believe it as she studied his face. There were subtle differences - just enough to make the supermodel and the superhero look like two completely different people. But this meant that Chat hadn't betrayed her and told her crush about her crush. He was still trustworthy, for the most part - he was still her friend. "I can't believe you're - you're really Adrien?"

Adrien - Chat, that is - looked like he was going through similar revelations. "I can't believe I've been spending time with the girl I - Ladybug outside of just fighting bad guys! I've been to your house! We've been friends since I started public school!" There was a big doofy grin on his face, like someone had just whacked him on the side of the head with several pounds of utter bliss.

"Come back out here! You're supposed to share your secrets with the reporter!" the Unveiler screamed from outside as the doorknob to the room started wiggling. "You can't hide from the truth."

"We can talk about this later," Ladybug promised Chat, knowing that she wanted to discuss it as much as he did, "but for now, we have to finish this before she actually gets us to tell in front of the entire school." Taking out her yo-yo, she spun it up into the air, saying, "Lucky charm!" There was a strong glow before a roll of red and black-spotted duct tape materialized.

"What's this for?" Chat asked as she caught it.

Looking around, it took Ladybug only a few seconds before she realized what they needed to do. "I think I know," she said slowly, "but I don't think you're going to like this any more than I do. Before that, though, I have a plan."

* * *

Chat slunk along the roof once more, his claws already swarming with the devastating dark energy of his cataclysm. They had to get this over with quickly. He kept an eye out for his cue, watching as Ladybug burst from the room below, throwing the Unveiler back from the door and into the open courtyard. She immediately reached for a piece of the paper and began scrawling, but she stopped as she saw Ladybug's face.

"That isn't fair!" she cried out as she saw Ladybug, distracted enough for the spotted heroine to push her back a few more yards with a swift kick. She was right beneath the basketball net, and that was where Chat came in. He jumped down, using his staff to slow the momentum, and touched the back of the backboard with his claws.

It fell right onto the Unveiler, making her drop her pen as the hoop fell around her shoulders. Chat landed safely on the ground and walked to Ladybug's side to give her a high-five with a smile on his face, before Ladybug reached out to him and he to her. Then, in perfect synchronization, they tore the tape off of each other's mouths.

They both let out sharp exclamations of pain, but as they rubbed their lips and looked at each other, they began to laugh. "Well, at least we didn't tell anyone anything we'd really regret," Chat offered.

Worry flashed through Ladybug's head as she remembered what they'd been forced to admit before briefly fleeing. "What about the whole thing where she made us tell...?"

"You mean that I love you?" Chat said with a lopsided grin, making her blush at his straightforwardness.

She was kept from responding by a tiny beeping in her ear, alerting her that they had to finish this quickly. "We can talk about that later," she said quickly, glad to change the topic.

She had a good idea of where the akuma was hidden, and brought her foot down on the pen. Sure enough, a purple butterfly fluttered out from inside of it. "No!" the Unveiler cried out, though weakly. "I have to get to the truth! I have to!"

"It's time to de-evilize!" It took only a few seconds for Ladybug's yo-yo to purify the little akuma, and then she was setting it free, purified once more. "Bye-bye little butterfly!"

Everything went back to normal after Ladybug fixed everything once again, using the lucky charm, which disappeared immediately after. Ladybug and Chat made their escapes before their time ran out, and moments later, Marinette was walking out of the principal's office, looking around cautiously as if she was making sure everything really was okay.

When she saw that the girl from before was talking to a couple of teachers with a distressed expression, Marinette thought she might just not say anything, but she knew she probably wouldn't feel right just leaving her without apologizing. She made her way down the stairs, tapping her shoulder. "Excuse me?"

"Hm?" The girl turned around, though her eyes darted away when she saw that it was Marinette. "Oh, sorry. Was I in your way?"

"No, no," Marinette said quickly, shaking her head. She hated that the younger girl was avoiding her gaze - had she really been that awful in her reaction earlier? "You aren't, and you weren't then. I've just been having a bad sort of week, and I was stressed, and I took it out on you even though I had no right to. I'm really sorry for blowing up at you like that. Are you okay?"

"I forgive you." She seemed to relax a great deal, her eyes brightening once more. "And I'm fine. Just one question - do you think you'd be up for an interview after all of this?"

For a moment, Marinette hesitated. Then she realized that now, she felt like she could talk about everything that had happened, and though she couldn't tell anyone the extent to which it personally affected her, she was comfortable with acknowledging it. "Sure," she said with a grin. "Just name a time and place, and I'll try to bring Alya along, too."

"Great! My name's Mahogany, by the way," the other girl said as she started to write something down. "It's going to be great to get an interview with you guys!"

After giving Marinette the time and place, she was off, and Marinette headed back to class. No one could really focus on anything school-related after the day's events, so they ended up getting a free day, though it probably would've happened something like that anyway, being the first day of school. They did have a project already assigned in a couple of classes, but they were both group projects, and Marinette could get to them later.

Finally, school was over, and she found herself standing face to face with Adrien in the classroom after everyone else had left.

"You know, I didn't get to finish using my smooth one-liners on you today," Adrien said playfully, his tone something that was normally reserved for Chat-Ladybug interactions.

Marinette could already feel her face heating up, but she found it in her to say, "You could finish now."

"Well," he started, then stopped, then started again. "You know how we were talking about how I've loved you for about forever as Chat and Ladybug?" He was grinning again at the look on her face. "I don't think I regret anyone knowing about that. I don't think I ever will."

Then he leaned in and, after searching her eyes to see if it was alright and getting a short nod in response, he gave her a soft, chaste kiss.

There was a squeal from the doorway that completely broke the atmosphere, and Alya slipped into the room to hug each of them with one of her arms, jumping up and down and taking them for the ride. "Oh my god, I was wondering when you two would finally figure it out! This totally means we can all go on double dates now! You guys and me and Nino! This is going to be so great!"

"We have been waiting a while," Nino agreed, slipping into the room behind her. His actions might've had a more casual feel, but his face wore the same broad smile that Alya's did.

"Do you guys not know what privacy is?" Marinette joked to Alya, nudging her with her elbow as she slipped out of her hold.

"Uh, hello, I've basically theorized and then known about this for forever, and you can't expect me not to want to see my best friend get what she deserves," Alya said back, crossing her arms with a smirk. "You guys are just too adorable."

The four of them made their way out of the classroom, exchanging playful banter with each other all the while. Their group somehow felt more whole than it had ever been, and they sauntered out of the school nudging each other and exchanging teasing words about who liked who. They were all together, and finally, after everything they'd been through, they were all happy, too.

 _Finally this is done! ;v; I hope the ending was good enough! And sorry about the fight scene - I know it's not the most epic or the best, I was honestly mostly trying just to get the plot written and tied up. Anyway, I hope you all have enjoyed this short fanfic!_

 _\- CharliSilverWrites_


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